Top 5 reasons why you should see a dietitian before initiating a low FODMAP diet

The low FODMAP diet is a therapeutic diet for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The low FODMAP diet should be undertaken with the guidance of a registered dietitian to ensure the diet is followed correctly and is healthy, well-balanced, and varied.

Top 5 reasons for seeing a dietitian!

1. Refer on to other medical/ health professionals when necessary!

If you haven’t seen a GP or gastroenterologist about your symptoms, a dietitian can refer you to a GP for the necessary investigations. IBS-like symptoms can also occur in other serious gut conditions such as coeliac disease and inflammatory bowel disease. These conditions need to be excluded before a diagnosis of IBS is made

2. Provide first line advice for IBS

Before trying the low FODMAP diet, it is important to address other dietary factors including regular meals, fluid intake, caffeine intake, and excess fat, which can worsen symptoms. 50% of people with IBS get symptom relief following the first line advice.

3. Provide support and low FODMAP resources

People that follow the low FODMAP diet more strictly experience better symptom improvement. A dietitian can support you in following the low FODMAP diet by providing a variety of resources. These include up-to-date diet sheets, menu plans, information on reading labels and eating out and recommended apps.

4. Ensure your nutritional status isn’t compromised!

Over-restriction of FODMAPs may compromise your intake of calcium, B vitamins, dietary fibre and the variety of foods from which you get your nutrients from. A dietitian can recommend which food groups to focus on to ensure your nutritional status isn’t compromised. This is particularly important for vegetarians because common vegetarian foods are high FODMAP, meaning protein, vitamin B12, iron and zinc intake may be inadequate.

5. Determine the long-term plan with being on a low FODMAP diet

Once symptom relief is achieved on a low FODMAP diet, it might be easy to remain on the diet. However, there are many reasons why a low FODMAP diet should not be followed in the long-term.

Dietitians provide a systematic way of identifying which FODMAPs are problematic for you and the quantity that can be included in your diet in the long term. You may only need to restrict a few very high FODMAP foods.

To find out more about the low FODMAP diet, Book a FREE 15-minute consultation https://www.cambridgedietitian.co.uk/contact/